A local thief breaks in through an open window of an almost entirely empty room of a mansion. Almost. The owner of a mansion is a rich man who has been expecting him, that is to say, he pays well to be well-informed about what happens in his town. But he greets him not with his duck hunting shotgun, rather with: a riddle.

The door of the room is firmly closed and there is no way for the thief to open them to explore the rest of the mansion. But, the thief will not necessarily leave the mansion empty-handed, that is to say, there is a surveillance camera on the ceiling and three boxes in the middle of the room.

A small cubical box with a side length of 10 cm has this written on it: “One million dollars is inside me in small bills!”. But, there is the 2nd cubical box next to it with a side length of 50 cm on which it says: “One of us three boxes is lying, that is to say, there is a clock worth $1000 inside me, unless, — I am but a ticking bomb . . .” The thief does hear ticking sounds coming from the large box, unsure whether the clock or the bomb is making them. Lastly, but not least, 3rd box has the following written on it: “If you open more boxes than one the metal window blinds will quickly fall down locking you inside this room when you will hear the alarm go off waiting for the police to arrest you: if you survive.”

Presuming that the thief is smart and a risk taker, was he arrested, did he die or broke out of it richer?